This invention relates to work handling apparatus for a center drive lathe of the type having a center chuck for holding a workpiece so that its two ends can be machined at the same time. The lathe may have right hand and left hand turrets which can be positioned longitudinally and transversely with respect to the work axis, each turret providing a plurality of tool carrying faces. The invention relates more particularly to means for accurately locating the workpiece with respect to the chuck, usually centrally but not necessarily so, so that the ends to be machined are correctly presented when a predetermined cycle of machining operations has to be followed. The invention is especially applicable to work handling apparatus for numerically controlled machine tools, wherein the workpiece is placed in the chuck and removed therefrom by a robot, the turrets and the chuck being operated under numerical control in accordance with a given program; however, the invention is not restricted to this application.